Liquid dispensers are used for various purposes, including cleaning a plurality of discrete locations or areas in a room. For example, sanitizer provided in a portable spray dispenser that utilizes a spray nozzle to dispense the sanitizing agent over a broad area may be utilized to clean various rooms. However, in the course of cleaning the room, custodial staff or other user, may inadvertently forget to clean one or more of the specified regions of the room, thus allowing potentially hazardous levels of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens to grow and propagate.
For example, in the case of a hospital, one of the procedures required before a patient room can be subsequently used for another patient is to clean specific areas or regions of the room with sanitizer. That is, hospital criteria may require that after a patient has left a room, that all tables, bed frames, toilets, sinks, and door knobs be cleaned by custodians prior to a new patient being admitted to the room. However, due to the nature of custodial work, which entails attending to various intervening tasks during the course of the performance of their work, custodians may inadvertently forget to clean one or more of the specified areas of the room. Unfortunately, there is currently no manner for the custodian to identify the particular area or item that he or she has overlooked when he or she resumes sanitizing the room. As a result, patients may be unknowingly exposed to unsanitized regions in their room, which may interfere with their recovery and lead to extended hospital stays and increased medical costs, which is unwanted.
Therefore, there is a need for a dispenser use monitor for a portable dispenser that ensures that predetermined, designated locations or areas of a room are cleaned. In addition, there is a need for a dispenser use monitor for a portable dispenser that can be readily removed and attached to a portable dispenser, such as a portable spray bottle. Furthermore, there is a need for a dispenser use monitor that is low cost and easy to use.